Golden Yunnan vendors lately?

So I know there are older threads, but it seems like the best Golden Yunnan is hard to find... ie Ito En had some stellar pure gold last year, but at present their's is not so hot... So I need the latest info

Has anyone had a great all-gold GY that they bought recently? The Yunnan Sourcing stuff is good but not amazing, and I don't want to wait a month for shipment anyway...

So I am thinking perhaps SpecialTeas 508 and/or 509... but would like to see if there are any other vendor rec's out there as well. Perhaps I will even try the Adagio YG... Any thoughts?

Also, Harney has a Golden "Hunan" and a Golden "Luo" that look pretty good from the pictures at least.. Anyone tried them? Prob not the same distinctive "Golden Yunnan" taste, but I am a fan of other highly tippy/golden China Tea's in general, so maybe I will give them a try...

I know that 2007 was not a good year for Yunnan, and many Adagio Customers complained that the YG had changed. I ordered a sample tin not too long ago and it was very, good. But I would like to know when the 2008 crop is in. The Adagio 2006 was getting rave reviews.

I have 2007 Yunnan Golden tips from houdeasianart, Adagio and Palais des thés.
Palais des thés is clearly superior: more golden tips (which isn't always decisive for the taste anyway) and smoother, but also clearly more expensive (about 40$ for 100gr).
It is currently out of stock at both houdeasianart and Palais des thés.
Mariage Frères sells also very good Golden Yunnan also (40$ and more for 100gr)

And thanks Victoria, harvest year might play a role, but I suspect it's more an issue of finding Tea from the best bushes/farms, best flush, and the best processing methods.

The search continues... I will let you all know what I order, and post my comparisons. I think I am leaning towards sampling from a few different vendors. If anyone has additional suggestions, let me know...

keelyn wrote:Why the shortage of good Yunnan? Is it all going into pu erh cakes?

I wouldn't call it a shortage- I am just picky, having been spoiled by some of the 10/10, 5-star, out-of-this-world Super-Tea's I have come across in my time. And once I find a Tea like that, and then can't find it anymore, the hunt begins...

A few of my faves that would get that rating, for blacks:

Meleng Assam 07 SFTGFOP1 from SpecialTeas
The Golden Buddha Fujian Red also from ST
Keemun Spring Dawn from Ito En (25/ounce!)
And the mystery Golden Yunnan 07 that I can't remember where it came from, possibly Ito En but they don't have it anymore...

To use more flattering terms, I might call myself "discerning" But that just makes me sound annoying...

I signed up just because of this topic and it took a few days to get the account activated.

Anyways -
I was very happy to see somebody mention peppery and yunnan together. Many years ago I used to buy great yunnan right from the Chinese grocery - I still have a box and I'll attach the image of the bottom of the can for fun. That tea was great - it tasted like it had fresh cracked pepper in it. For years I have bought many yunnans and never had that flavor again. I checked with the Chinese tea shops and they looked at me like I was crazy for thinking that tea had a pepper taste - well, yunnan / black tea isn't that popular anyways. So, I thought I was chasing the holy grail and thought maybe I was just crazy - and then, lo and behold, I found this topic here talking about a peppery yunnan! Oh happy day, I'm not that nuts! So, I would love to know what yunnan you bought from that yunnan sourcing on ebay - they have several yunnan blacks for sale.

I signed up just because of this topic and it took a few days to get the account activated.

Anyways - I was very happy to see somebody mention peppery and yunnan together. Many years ago I used to buy great yunnan right from the Chinese grocery - I still have a box and I'll attach the image of the bottom of the can for fun. That tea was great - it tasted like it had fresh cracked pepper in it. For years I have bought many yunnans and never had that flavor again. I checked with the Chinese tea shops and they looked at me like I was crazy for thinking that tea had a pepper taste - well, yunnan / black tea isn't that popular anyways. So, I thought I was chasing the holy grail and thought maybe I was just crazy - and then, lo and behold, I found this topic here talking about a peppery yunnan! Oh happy day, I'm not that nuts! So, I would love to know what yunnan you bought from that yunnan sourcing on ebay - they have several yunnan blacks for sale.

Cheers!

Nice to have you here at TeaChat!
Heres the Yunnan Gold that I was talking about. Its a very good deal. You get a massive quantity of tea, well enough to suit me for a year. It has that peppery flavor that you described and its pretty darn good for the price. All buds, haven't found a leaf or partially opened bud yet.